HOD's Overview
The Department of
Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies (GEMES) at the
University of Johannesburg aims to be a leading academic centre in Human and
Physical Geography, Geo-informatics, Environmental Management and Energy
Studies. These core focus areas inform local, national and global priorities to
address geographical and environmental problems. Our mandate is to provide
quality teaching and research, in keeping with the strategic imperatives of the
Faculty of Science at the University of Johannesburg and the UJ’s 2025
Strategic Plan.
Community engagement
also forms an integral component of our broad mandate and mission and the
department hosts a number of registered community engagement projects.
Providing a rigorous academic environment for students and recognising the need
for a decolonised academy are among our key challenges. Throughput rates at
undergraduate and honours levels have remained high over a number of years.
Increased productivity is being initiated at masters and doctoral level.
The Geography
Department at UJ has been recognised internationally in the QS World Rankings by Subject in 2016 as
being in the top 151-200 geography departments globally. The subject of
Geography at UJ is also ranked by QS as 4th in South Africa and in
Africa. The department is very productive in terms of research with four of our
academic staff being NRF-rated. Visiting professors and researchers complement
our research and teaching with regular visits to our department.